BAGHDAD, July 1 (UPI) -- The meeting this week between rival contenders for Iraq's next prime minister went nowhere, top Kurdish politicians said in Baghdad.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met Tuesday with rival Iyad Allawi for the second time since March 7 elections. Allawi led his secular Iraqiya slate to a narrow victory over Maliki's State of Law bloc, though neither party won the 163-seat majority needed to form a government alone.
Mahmoud Othman, the leader of the Kurdistan Alliance, told the National Iraqi News Agency that any settlement between the two leaders was a long way off because the "the disputes between them are huge."
Maliki, who is seeking a second term, formed an alliance in June that is four seats short of the 163-seat majority. Allawi says he has the right to form a government first because his coalition won the election.
INA and State of Law have yet to agree on a candidate for prime minister. Haider al-Jourani, a leading member of State of Law, said the nomination process "is still a complicated issue" because of opposition to the appointment of Maliki, NINA reports.
A group of 50 lawmakers from various coalitions said earlier this week they were forming an independent bloc because they were frustrated with the political stalemate.
